Volcano in Southern Japan erupts, adds to country's woes

Tokyo
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A volcano located at the southern region of Japan has been reported by the Meteorological Agency to be spewing rock and ashes on Sunday.

Mt. Shinmoe-dake erupted after being silent for over two weeks. The most recent eruption released a pillar of rock, ash and volcanic debris two and a half miles high into the air.

Level three warnings have already been issued within the immediate and surrounding areas of the volcano. Authorities have also restricted access to the mountain, which is located in the Kirishima range in the island of Kyushu.

As of this posting time, experts are uncertain whether the eruption is directly linked to the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the northern part of Japan on Friday.

Mt. Shinmoe-dake is located some 950 miles from the epicenter of Friday's massive quake, and is one of the many volcanoes located within the Pacific Ring of Fire—a seismically active zone where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes commonly occur. It first erupted again in January 2011 after 52 years of being dormant.

The volcanic eruption is the latest of the already growing number of concerns Japan continues to face as they continue to cope with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country, and the pending threat of nuclear meltdown in the affected areas.